American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 1,179,823 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 130.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.38% of Xcel Energy worth $111,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 97,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,050,000 after purchasing an additional 10,546 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on XEL shares. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.92.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $63.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.49. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $64.43. The company has a market cap of $35.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.77%.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.